


What He Didn't Know He Was Missing

by wordslikelightning



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Library, Kid Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-10
Updated: 2013-02-10
Packaged: 2017-11-28 21:44:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/679190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordslikelightning/pseuds/wordslikelightning
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Isaac begs his adoptive father, Derek, to take him to the library. It turns out much better than either of them could have expected when a frazzled librarian stumble into the scene. Maybe libraries aren't so bad after all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What He Didn't Know He Was Missing

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Saucery](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saucery/gifts).



This was all Isaac’s fault. If he wasn’t so damn cute (and manipulative), Derek wouldn’t feel so bad about denying him things. That is why he found himself driving his adopted son to the library on a Saturday. The library, Derek, on a Saturday. In the middle of summer. Although he would never admit it, when it came to Isaac, he would do anything to make him happy. This was a small price for the huge smile he saw on the boys face when he agreed.

But damn if he would tell anyone he went anything but begrudgingly.  
Isaac had come home from daycare (which was really his sister Laura’s apartment), talking about how his friend Erica was going to a something or another and naturally he wanted to go as well. Those two were nearly inseparable. 

When they pulled into a parking space, Derek turned in his seat to see the dark blond boy’s curls bouncing with his excitement. “You ready, pup?” 

“Yes, yes, yes! Papa, lets go!” He drew out the last word as he pulled impatiently at his restraints. Derek chuckled, unbuckled Isaac, threw him up to sit on his shoulders and headed inside. He was met with the sight of little ones running amok everywhere. He heard a shriek as something attached itself to his leg.

He looked down to see a head of long blonde hair, and a tiny voice came muffled by his pant leg, “Hi Isaac! Hi Derek!”

The boy on his shoulders started to squirm when he saw her. “Down, please! Down!” Derek swung him to the ground (avoiding getting kicked in the head by flailing limbs). “Bye Papa,” the boy threw over his shoulder before being quickly grabbed by the hand and pulled into the fray of children.

“You two stay out of trouble,” he called after them before turning to find a seat against the far wall. Before he even made it two steps, Scott, Jackson and Boyd rolled into his path. They were growling and grabbing at anything they could reach. Derek knew they did this all the time, being in the same pack, he knew these boy since they were infants. Still, they were in public and he did not need their little eyes flashing when they got more into it. He knelt down to pull them apart just as a new scent hit his nose.

It was warm, like baking bread, but fresh like pine. There were undertones of something close to nutmeg and the wind in autumn. It was the best thing Derek had ever smelt. He had frozen, a boy in each arm as his back straitened and he searched for the source. Just as he turned, he saw a man stumble through the sea of kids towards him. His face was flushed and dark green cable knit sweater and plaid button up collar disheveled from chasing children all morning. He had big honey-brown eyes, pale skin dotted with chocolate colored moles and his mouth was open. His full, rose colored lips sucking in air to settle his heartbeat, a hand pressed to his chest.

The scent belonged to him. He realized that Derek had parted the squabbling rug rats and the man sighed in relief.

“Oh, thank you! I have been trying to separate them all morning. They just don’t seem to stop.” A breathy laugh passed his lips as he watched Derek stand there, still holding the two boys stiff a board. Just as he was starting to get an odd look for his unresponsiveness, he realized that when people speak to you, if you don’t want to scare them off, you answer them. He shook himself mentally, cleared his suddenly dry throat, and hefted the boys a bit, making them giggle.

“Uh, yeah. They have always been a hand full.” He set them down but kept a hand on their shoulders to keep them in place. “You two are going to be behave, alright? Libraries are not a place to wrestle. Now, why don’t you go find Isaac and Erica?” They both nodded, lowered their eyes in submission and chorused “Yes, Derek,” and sprinted off two find the others. He stood back up to see a look of awe on the other man’s face.

“You have to teach me how to do that! I’ve been trying all day to make them stop beating on each other and you just… they listened!” His eyes were wide and Derek warmed under the praise. 

“Well, if you knew them for as long as I have, they tend to listen. Especially when you are their uncle and their mothers are your sisters.” Derek scratched at the back of his neck before reaching out his hand.

“I’m Derek, by the way, Derek Hale.”

“Stiles,” the smaller man answered with a bright smile as he took Derek’s hand. “I’m the assistant librarian here. They left me alone with all of these kids and they should have been back by now. I’m not sure what I’m going to do if they don’t get back soon. They are going to revolt and come after my blood. I-” The man- no, Stiles. Stiles stopped mid flow as Derek placed a hand on his shoulder. He brought his eyes up to meet the green of the taller man’s. Derek couldn’t stand to see him in such a panic, the emotion muddied his scent. 

“You will be fine. I’m sure you can handle a few kids.” Stiles took a calming breath, still not taking his eyes of Derek’s.

“R-Right,” he nodded. “I can do this. I can do this…” He keeps repeating the phrase as he straitens his sweater, runs a hand through his hair (which didn’t help it lay down in the least), and goes to restore order.

—

Derek stays, taking up post against the wall and watches. There was something he was going to do while Isaac was off with his friends, but all thoughts of leaving fled his mind once Stiles had entered it. Stiles. That one word, one name, one person changed his life in an instant. The only other person to have that effect on him was Isaac. The day he crouched down, slipped his fingers through the small loose curls and told him that no one was going to hurt him again. Isaac was the most important person in his life, but he could see Stiles already worming his way into his heart.

Stiles had rounded up the kids, settles them down on carpet squares and little pillows. “Okay, kids! Are you ready for a story?” The kids squeal, clap and generally give every sign of agreement. The brown haired man chuckled, whipped his hands on his pants and leaned in, lowering his voice like he was about to tell them a secret. The children go quiet and still, mirroring him as if he had cast a spell. “This story is probably my favorites. It’s based on Little Red Riding Hood, but it’s different. I always thought the wolf was misunderstood. This one is much better.” Stiles picked up a colorful book, smiling at it fondly at the cover before flipping it around, and  he began to read.

His voice fell into a steady cadence. The kids settled down and soon enough we caught up in the story. A bomb could have went off and Derek doubts they would have noticed. Stiles’ steady rhythm of words, the tuning of pages, the slight glint of light off the frame of his reading glasses was hypnotic. He was nothing like the flailing, rambling man he had met earlier.

His story was far different from the Little Red Riding Hood story he heard in school when he was a child. Stiles’ smooth cadence drew the attention of everyone in hearing distance. He wove a tale of a girl who had become lost in the woods while she was running from an evil man. In her panic she lost her way.

As the sun fell lower,  her fear grew. She came to rest at the edge of a lake, the silver moonlight reflected upon the glassy surface. The girl heard rustling and turned to see a huge black wolf stride slowly towards the water. Her heart began to pound and her quiet gasp drew the attention of the animal. Trapped against the rock face, the girl began to cry, thinking her life was at an end, but the wolf didn’t attack.

It crouched, crawling forward, nudging gently against her hand and making soft, comforting sounds in it’s throat.  She reached out a tentative hand to stroke a soft ear and to her surprise the creature leaned into the touch. The girl drew comfort from the beast and spoke to it. She told it of all that had brought her here and how she feared she would never find a way back home.

The wolf stood and gently pulled the edge of her skirts until she was as well. It lowered itself and tossed it’s head in a gesture for her to climb on it’s back. When she gripped the dark fur tightly, the wolf moved swift and silent threw the trees. In no time at all the light of her home was visible.

They came to a stop and she slid from it’s strong back and thanked him with a kiss between the eyes. The girl untied the blood red sash from around her waist and wound it around one of the wolf’s paws. She stayed and watched the black wolf disappear into the darkness.  
  
The next day, a strange man appeared before the cabin. He was handsome, strong, and his head was crowned with jet black hair. He approached her and knelt before her, holding out his hands. She looked down and saw her red sash and she knew in that instant that somehow he was the wolf who had saved her life.  
  
She fell to her knees and kissed his forehead. The girl smiled, happy that she had found the man she knew she was born to love.  
With each word the man spoke, Derek fell even farther for him. He was so entranced, he almost didn’t notice when someone was standing beside him.  
  
“I need whatever he’s got. I can never get Jackson to sit still for so long.” His sister bumped her shoulder against his, knocking his brain out of the Stiles induced fog.   
  
A ‘Hmm?’ was all he managed, gaze flicking from his sister and back. Her eyes lit up as she saw what, or who, had caught his eye. “Do you think you’ve found him, Derek?” She didn’t elaborate, but he knew what she was getting at.  
  
“I may have,” his tone was uncharacteristically dreamy and unfocused. Something she had never heard from her little brother.   
  
“I have never seen you look at anyone that way.” She took a deep breath, “You even smell different.” Her voice held a tone of awe. “Derek, you cannot let him slip by. I do not want you to have to settle for less when I am forced to pair you up with someone else.” Derek straitened his jacket, a scowl darkening his face. He didn’t like the thought of being paired up any of the women in the pack (not that they have not already tried). He like the thought of someone else with Stiles even less.  
  
“I won’t let that happen, Laura, but this is a huge decision. Not to mention I met an hour ago and I have to take Isaac into account. There is always the possibility that he isn’t interested.” Derek trailed off, he hadn’t thought that finally finding his mate would come with so many complications. Because Stiles was a human, he knew nothing of their ways. He wasn’t even sure if the man would believe him, but he knew he was not going to let go of Stiles without a fight.  
  
“For some reason, I don’t think you will have much of a problem with that,” she flashed him a knowing smile.   
  
  
Derek hadn’t noticed Stiles had stopped reading until his nephew appeared between them. Laura picked up her son (who was pulling on her arm), gave Derek a meaningful look and turned to leave. Derek searched through the thigh-high crowd for his son. He wasn’t with any of the other kids from the pack, which threw him off. Isaac is not the most trusting boy, after the incident with his true father and rarely talked to anyone new. So when he finally located his son latched onto Stiles’ hand and talking animatedly, he felt something in his chest tighten. When Isaac saw him approaching, he bounced on the spot and waved him closer.  
  
“Papa! Can Mr. Stiles come and have dinner with us? You said you would grill,” he turns back to the man he had leeched himself to. “Papa makes the best burgers.” Isaac looks to his father hopefully. Sometimes his son was a genius. Derek was going to take him out for ice cream.  
  
“I don’t see why not. We always have extra anyway.” Derek looked to Stiles and raised an eyebrow. It was all up to him now.   
  
“I don’t want to intrude. I-”  
  
“It’s no trouble, we would be happy to have you.” He reassures as he detaches his son from Stiles’ slacks.   
  
“Well if you are sure…” Derek gives him the address and his number, just in case. “Let me bring something at least, like a salad? Yeah, a salad. I’ll see you guys later then?” He waves, walking backwards until he stumbles through the swinging door and into the back room.  
  
Derek chuckles, hoists Isaac up to where he throw his arms around his neck and legs around his waist, clinging to him like a lemur. As they make their way out to the car, Derek bounces him a bit to get his attention.  
  
“What do you think of him, Isaac?” The boy’s head was resting on his chest, as he spoke, nuzzling in.  
  
“Mr. Stiles? I like him, that’s why I invited him to dinner. Did you hear the story? It was like he knows, papa! He is the best story teller. Also, he smells nice. Do you think he would read me something before I go to bed later?”  
  
“If you asked him nicely and told him how much you enjoy his reading, he might.”   
  
“Do you like him, Papa?” Isaac looked up at him with searching eyes, as if he already knew the answer.  
  
“I do, pup. I really do.” He buckled Isaac into his car seat before asking, “How do you feel about ice cream?” Derek knew the answer before he even asked.  
  
Maybe going to the library on a Saturday wasn’t so bad after all.  
  
<><><><><><><><>  
  
Derek was just putting the burgers onto the grill when he heard a rumble of an engine and the crunch of gravel under tires as they turned off the pavement of the road and onto the driveway. Before he could say a thing, he heard Isaac running around the house chanting “HE’S HERE!”  
  
Derek smirked, closed the hood of the grill, grabbed a down and cleaned his hands as he made his way to the door. The dark haired man scooped up Isaac, reminded him that Stiles is human and he need to keep himself in control. With that settled, he places the squirming boy back on his feet and listens to the noises coming from outside. He hears Stiles muttering to himself under his breath before landing a firm knock on the dark wood.  
Isaac pulls the door open to reveal a smiling Stiles, one arm cradling a large glass bowl full of colorful salad. The brunet flashed a lopsided smile, gesturing toward his full arm, “Hey, guys. I- ugh, brought salad.” It almost sounded like a question.  
  
Derek stepped forward, pushing the door open farther and sweeps an arm in welcome. Isaac darted forward, grabbing Stiles’ free and hand dragging him across the threshold and into the kitchen. “Mr. Stiles! You can leave it on the table. You like books right? Since you work in a library? Do you want to see our books?”  
  
“Isaac,” Derek chided, “how about we eat first?” He walked past Stiles, breathing in that same beautiful scent he had picked up earlier.  
Stiles chuckled, passing the bowl into Derek’s outstretched hands, “I do like books and I would love to see them.” A beat later he tacks on, “after we eat,” smiling at Derek. “Also, it’s just Stiles, no need for that mister part.”  
  
“Could you show Stiles where the plates and silverware are?” Derek says to Isaac, grabbing a spatula the plate he had set out earlier and heads to the sliding glass door to check on the burgers. “Maybe he can help you set the table?” He throws an apologetic look at Stiles, “I hadn’t had to time to get everything set out, I hope you don’t mind.”  
  
Stiles flailed his hand in Derek’s direction. “Not a problem, Isaac and I have got his covered. Right, Isaac?”  
Isaac nodded enthusiastically, golden curls flopping and smile bright.  
  
—  
  
Dinner was nice, fun even. Any awkwardness Derek had with social interaction was over powered by Stiles’ ability to keep conversation going no matter what.  
  
Afterward, Isaac showed off their books while Derek got busy with the dishes. He was deep in thought while scrubbing a plate when he realized someone had taken the dish towel off the counter and began drying the dripping stack on the other side of the sink.  
  
“Thank you for earlier today, for talking me down. I was well on my was to a panic attack if it all had kept up.”  
  
Derek pushed away the contented hum of his wolf upon knowing he had such an effect on Stiles. “I knew you would do just fine. Those kids seemed to love it, I know Isaac did,” he said quietly, not wanting to break the calmness that had settled over the house.  
  
“You think so?” Stiles asks, his eyes lighting up hopefully as he met Derek’s gaze.  
  
“I do,” Derek smirked. “Even I liked the story, I had never heard it that way before.”  
  
“The wolf always seems to get the short end of the stick. I never saw him as a bad guy, no one ever tells his side. I found the version in college and I read it to as many kids as I can. They need to see that the wolf isn’t all that big and bad. I, personally, love wolves and I’m rambling again so…” Derek’s mouth curled up as he watched the man talk. His movements became more and more animated as he spoke and the fondness in his tone when he brought up wolves.  
  
“I don’t mind,” the taller man chuckled, then gestured to the rag in Stiles’ hands. “You don’t have to do that, you know.”  
  
Stiles shrugged, “I know, but I wanted to. Isaac is changing into pajamas and you looked like you could use some help.”  
  
“I’m used to doing it by myself. Isaac sometimes helps but most times he is already asleep.”  
  
The shorter man stilled, “If you would rather-” he started, but Derek cut him off.  
  
“No, that isn’t what I mean. It’s… nice though, having help,” Derek admitted.  
  
“Well, any time you want a partner, give me a call.” The possible implication of Stiles’ words seemed to catch up with him because he flushed bright red and began to stammer. “T-That is not what I meant! I mean there is no way someone like you would be interested in me, even if you did swing that way. But, I should really shut up now.” Stiles sucks in a large amount of air and presses his lips together, blushing hard and not taking his eyes off his hands.  
  
“Someone like me?” Derek questions.  
  
“Well yeah, you have to know you are extremely attractive,” Stiles mutters.  
  
Derek tips his head to the side, passing Stiles the last plate, “It so happens that someone like me would be very interested in you.”  
  
Stiles hands still for probably the first time that night and he looks up into Derek’s hazel eyes. All he can seem to come up with is, “What?”  
  
Derek smiles, the smile that is usually reserved for Isaac and that just reaffirms how spectacularly gone he is. “Stiles, would you like to go on a date… with me?”  
  
The amber eyed man blinks slowly a few times, then his mouth gradually spreads into a blinding smile.  
  
“Yeah. Yes, I definitely would.”

**Author's Note:**

> Reworked on 2-24-2013  
> Thank you so much for reading!  
> I don't own anything, I just like to play here. The writers and creators get all the credit for making such wonderful places and characters.  
> Read by the lovely Kate: toothpickqueen.tumblr.com  
> I can be found at theseeyesofmine or wordslikelightning on Tumblr if anyone is interested.


End file.
